We drive the new small sedan set to arrive in May to support the hatch.

2017 Holden Astra sedan first drive review

The car I'm driving is called a Chevrolet Cruze. But when it arrives in Australia it will be wearing a Holden badge on the front and carrying the Astra nameplate instead.

Despite, or perhaps because of, recent history with the locally-made Cruze, Holden has opted to go with the Astra name locally in order to present a unified front on the small car market; adding the four-door sedan to the new five-door hatch and ageing three-door hatch.

But whatever they choose to call it this is a different car from the old Cruze, and one with a diverse heritage. While primarily designed for the US market (where there is a Cruze hatch, which has no relation to the Astra hatch), it is built off the same European developed 'D2' small car underpinnings as the Opel-designed Astra and will be built in General Motor's South Korean factory.

But that's not all. Holden has carried out its own local ride and handling program to tune the suspension for Australian conditions and tastes.

Holden has dumped the Cruze name from its compact car range. Photo: Supplied

Unfortunately that isn't the car Drive got to sample in Nashville, Tennessee this week. Instead we drove a US-specification version of the Cruze, but there was still plenty to be learned from the experience.

One of the biggest changes is under the bonnet, where a 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine replaces both of the previous Cruze model's powerplants; a 1.8-litre naturally-aspirated four and a 1.6-litre turbo petrol. It is the same new generation alloy four-pot found in the Astra hatch, tuned to produce 114kW of power and 240Nm of torque.

Thanks to a 113kg weight reduction for the new model the engine does a good job of pulling the Cruze/Astra along. It make lack the punch of a bigger turbo engine but the little 1.4 does a more than adequate job of motivating the Cruze/Astra.

The Australian Astra sedan will be powered by a turbocharged engine. Photo: Supplied

In terms how it drove the US-specification Cruze impressed overall. While the suspension seemed well suited to the mostly smooth American roads we experienced in and around Nashville, Australian roads are not as well maintained.

Importantly one of the biggest difference between the European Astra hatch and the Cruze is the suspension set-up. While the hatch gets a more advanced multi-link rear end the sedan has a simpler torsion beam or watts linkage hardware, depending on the models. So the sedan may struggle to match the dynamics and comfort of the hatch in Australia.

But beyond that the fundamentals of the underpinnings seem well sorted. Chevrolet's engineers claim the chassis is 25 per cent stiffer than the previous model and it certainly feels like a tauter machine, but we'll reserve our final judgement on the car until we sample the Holden-tuned version on Australian roads.

Another area of improvement is the cabin which features an improved design and better presentation. While not a radical change, and still featuring a similar but updated version of the MyLink infotainment system, the cabin looks slightly more premium and the layout is more practical.

There is more storage space in the console between the front seats thanks to the decision to ditch the handbrake lever; although it is replaced by a foot brake which feels a little cheap in these days of electric park brakes.

Holden won't officially release final pricing and specifications until closer to the Astra sedan's local launch in May there are some details already emerging.

For starters, the sedan will have a different model line-up to the hatch. Unlike the hatchback's R, RS and RS-V range the sedan will likely include LS, LT and LTZ designations.

Pricing is likely to start around the low $21,000 range and undercut the hatch slightly.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are likely to be standard across the range, as will reversing cameras. Safety features including forward collision warning, lane keeping assist and rear cross traffic alert will also be available on at least the top-specification model.

While the European hatch will be the more popular option, Holden is confident that the Korean-made sedan will still account for approximately 25 per cent of total Astra sales.

Based on our initial drive the signs are positive that this new small sedan, whatever you call it, will be better than the old Cruze and a solid competitor.

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Drive Comments

Reggie | 17 Jan 2017 01:18

It's too late, folks.

ibast | 17 Jan 2017 02:02

So we had to read all the way through that article to discover it's just another Deawoo. Given that Chevy failed to bring Koreas worst car manufacturer up to pace in past 15 years, I don't think there's any chance they could do so between models.

MotorMouth ibast | 18 Jan 2017 06:13

How is it a daewoo? It's built in a new GM factory that didn't even exist when Daewoo was around. It is largely identical to the Astra hatch, designed and engineered in Germany by Opel and shares many componenets, some made in Europe, some made in Korea. e.g. If you buy an Anstra hatch with an auto, that slushbox will have been manufactured in Korea and sent to Poland for assembly. You need ot get over your blatent racism, cars today are truly global.

Lindsay | 17 Jan 2017 13:50

Another crap car. Should be built in Donald Trumps America!

DanMan82 | 18 Jan 2017 02:31

So, am I correct in summarising that the 2017 Holden Astra hatch is an Opel and made in Europe (in case the constant TV ads hadn't got the message across yet) but the sedan is a Daewoo and made in Korea - so other than badge, they are completely unrelated to each other?
Why would anyone buy one?

MotorMouth DanMan82 | 18 Jan 2017 06:16

No Dan, you are most incorrect. Both cars are bult on the same platform and run mostly the same mechanicals. The Corolla sedan is more different than the Corolla hatch than these two cars. And the Astra hatch is manufactured in Poland, so Europe only in the strictest sense of the word, as opposed to the intimation that it will be a better car for it.

jonno | 18 Jan 2017 04:37

Firstly, Daewoo ceased to exist about 10 years ago. This 4 door Astra sedan is a Chevrolet that will be made in GM's new factory in South Korea. It's all new and bears no relation to the old Cruze. Whether it's good or not can only be ascertained by driving it. Others here have made senseless judgements about the Astra without even seeing or driving it.

MotorMouth | 18 Jan 2017 06:18

This article incorrectly claims teh Astra hatch has independent rear suspension, when it has a lice rear aaxle with a Watts link. The sedan will not have teh Watts link, as reported in the article, so the Watts link will be the major difference between the two. Otherwise they will seem identical from underneath and they will share a large percentage of parts.